The system and method disclosed herein uses the physical characteristics of a package, pallet, or any object for that fact to uniquely identify an object being shipped in the supply chain. The physical characteristics include, but are not limited to, the dimensions, weight, color, color variation and native markings (such as printing on the object) to make an identification. The object identifying physical characteristics may be captured at a point of origin and passed electronically from the originator/shipper to the receiving party. When an object is received by the recipient, it is uniquely identified by capturing the physical characteristics and matching those characteristics against the electronic information received from the shipper.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A supply chain management system comprising: a first computer system located at an object origin site comprising a first computer processor and a first computer memory storing program codes wherein the first computer system is operable to: capture through a first camera physical identification characteristics information for a first object when sending the first object to a receiving party destination, the physical identification characteristics information comprising color and/or color variation of the first object; process the physical identification characteristics information of the first object, to uniquely identify the first object based on the physical identification characteristics information; and store the processed physical identification characteristics information uniquely identifying the first object in a database, the database accessible at the receiving party destination; and a second computer system located at the receiving party destination comprising a second computer processor and a second computer memory storing program codes wherein the second computer system is operable to: capture through a second camera physical identification characteristics information for an object having been received at the receiving party destination, the physical identification characteristics information comprising color and/or color variation of the object having been received; process the physical identification characteristics information of the object having been received, to uniquely identify the object having been received based on the physical identification characteristics information; and match the processed physical identification characteristics information of the object having been received to the processed physical identification characteristics information of the first object, to uniquely identify the object having been received as the first object.
A supply chain management system identifies objects by their physical characteristics. At the origin, a computer system with a camera captures the object's color and/or color variations. It processes this information to create a unique ID for the object and stores it in a database accessible to the receiving party. At the destination, another computer system with a camera captures the physical characteristics (color and/or color variations) of the received object. This information is processed to identify the received object. The system then compares the processed characteristics of the received object with the data from the origin's database to confirm the object's identity.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first computer system is operable to: capture through the first camera physical identification characteristics information for a second object when sending the second object to a receiving party destination, the physical identification characteristics information comprising color and/or color variation of the second object; process the physical identification characteristics information of the second object, to uniquely identify the second object based on the physical identification characteristics information; and store the processed physical identification characteristics information uniquely identifying the second object in the database; and wherein the second computer system is operable to: determine whether the processed physical identification characteristics information of the object having been received matches the processed physical identification characteristics information of either the first object or the second object, to uniquely identify the object having been received as either the first object or the second object.
Building upon the system of claim 1, the origin computer also captures and stores color/color variation data for a second object in the database. At the receiving end, the system checks if the physical characteristics of the received object match either the first object's or the second object's stored characteristics. This allows the system to correctly identify the received object as either the first or the second object based on its color/color variation.
3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising: an indicia reader located at the first computer capable of capturing graphical representations of information from the object the first computer configured to store the graphical representations of information in the database.
Expanding on the system described in claim 2 (which involves identifying a received object by matching its color/color variation to either a first or second object's stored characteristics), an indicia reader at the origin computer captures graphical information (e.g., barcodes, QR codes, logos) from the object. This graphical information is also stored in the database alongside the object's color/color variation characteristics, providing an additional data point for identification.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include dimensions of the first object.
In addition to the color and/or color variation as described in claim 1, the first computer system also captures and stores the dimensions of the first object at the origin. This dimension information is used, in conjunction with the color/color variation data, to uniquely identify the object.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include weight of the first object.
In addition to the color and/or color variation as described in claim 1, the first computer system also captures and stores the weight of the first object at the origin. This weight information is used, in conjunction with the color/color variation data, to uniquely identify the object.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include a distinctive color of a marking on the surface of the first object and/or a distinctive placement of a marking on the surface of the first object.
In addition to the color and/or color variation as described in claim 1, the system uses the color and placement of markings on the object's surface to identify the object. The origin computer captures the distinctive color of markings and/or the distinctive placement of these markings on the surface of the object and stores it in the database for comparison.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include differences in color of printing on the surface of the first object.
In addition to the color and/or color variation as described in claim 1, the system uses color differences in printing on the object's surface as a unique identifier. The origin computer captures these color variations in the printing and stores them in the database for comparison.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include native markings of the first object.
In addition to the color and/or color variation as described in claim 1, the system also considers the object's inherent markings (native markings) for identification. The origin computer captures these native markings and stores them in the database to uniquely identify the object.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first object is a package.
In the system described in claim 1 (which identifies objects by their color/color variation), the "first object" being tracked is specifically a package.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first object is a plurality of arranged packages.
In the system described in claim 1 (which identifies objects by their color/color variation), the "first object" is defined as a group of packages arranged together.
11. A method of identifying objects in a supply chain, the method comprising: capturing through a first camera at an object origin site physical identification characteristics information for a first object when sending the first object to a receiving party destination; processing the physical identification characteristics information of the first object, to uniquely identify the first object based on the physical identification characteristics information; and storing the processed physical identification characteristics information uniquely identifying the first object in a database, the database accessible to a receiving party destination; capturing through a second camera at the receiving party destination physical identification characteristics information for an object having been received at the receiving party destination, the physical identification characteristics information comprising color and/or color variation of the object having been received; processing the physical identification characteristics information of the object having been received, to uniquely identify the object having been received based on the physical identification characteristics information; and matching the processed physical identification characteristics information of the object having been received to the processed physical identification characteristics information of the first object, to uniquely identify the object having been received as the first object.
A method for tracking objects in a supply chain involves capturing an object's color and/or color variations using a camera at the origin. This information is processed to generate a unique ID for the object and stored in a database accessible at the destination. Upon arrival, the destination captures the color and/or color variations of the received object using another camera. This data is processed to identify the received object. Finally, the system compares the received object's characteristics with the stored data from the origin to verify its identity.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: capturing through the first camera, physical identification characteristics information for a second object when sending the second object to a receiving party destination; processing the physical identification characteristics information of the second object, to uniquely identify the second object based on the physical identification characteristics information; storing the processed physical identification characteristics information uniquely identifying the second object in the database; and determining whether the physical identification characteristics information of the object having been received matches the processed physical identification characteristics information of either the first object or the second object, to uniquely identify the object having been received as either the first object or the second object.
Building on the method in claim 11 (which tracks objects by color/color variation), the process also captures and stores color/color variation data for a second object at the origin. At the receiving end, the system determines whether the received object's physical characteristics match either the first or second object's stored data. This allows the system to identify the received object as either the first or the second object.
13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: capturing at an indicia reader located at the first computer graphical representations of information from the object; and storing the graphical representations of information in the database.
Expanding on the method described in claim 11 (which involves identifying objects by color/color variation), a graphical representation (e.g., barcode, QR code) is captured from the object using an indicia reader at the origin. This graphical information is then stored in the database along with the object's color/color variation characteristics.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include dimensions of the first object.
In the method of claim 11 (identifying objects by color/color variation), the physical characteristics captured at the origin also include the object's dimensions. This dimension information is used, along with the color/color variation data, to uniquely identify the object.
15. The method of claim 11 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include weight of the first object.
In the method of claim 11 (identifying objects by color/color variation), the physical characteristics captured at the origin also include the object's weight. This weight information is used, along with the color/color variation data, to uniquely identify the object.
16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include a distinctive color of a marking on the surface of the first object and/or a distinctive placement of a marking on the surface of the first object.
The method of claim 11 (identifying objects by color/color variation) also uses the distinctive color and/or placement of markings on the object's surface as an identifying characteristic. This information is captured and stored in the database at the origin.
17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include differences in color of printing on the surface of the first object.
The method of claim 11 (identifying objects by color/color variation) also uses differences in color of printing on the object's surface as an identifying characteristic. This information is captured and stored in the database at the origin.
18. The method of claim 11 , wherein the physical identification characteristics information for the first object include native markings of the first object.
The method of claim 11 (identifying objects by color/color variation) also uses the object's native markings (inherent markings) as an identifying characteristic. This information is captured and stored in the database at the origin.
19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first object is a package.
In the method of claim 11 (which identifies objects by color/color variation), the "first object" being tracked is specifically a package.
20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the first object is a plurality of arranged packages.
In the method of claim 11 (which identifies objects by color/color variation), the "first object" is defined as a group of packages arranged together.
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January 4, 2016
August 8, 2017
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